Mass. home sales in 2011 worst in two decades

Last year’s housing market was one of the slowest in Massachusetts history, with the least amount of singlefamily home sales since 1990.

Ian B. Murphy/Daily News staff

Last year’s housing market was one of the slowest in Massachusetts history, with the least amount of singlefamily home sales since 1990.

Single-family home sales slipped by 6 percent statewide, according to The Warren Group, a Boston-based firm that tracks real estate transactions.

MetroWest and the Milford area fared better than the state averages for single-family home sales, but both areas still saw 4.4 and 0.8 percent declines, respectively, in the number of homes sold compared to 2010.

In the Milford area, several towns actually had more sales in 2011 than the previous year; Franklin, Medway, Milford and Millis each had at least an 8 percent increase in sales.

Bobby Capuzziello, a broker associate and Realtor at Afonso Real Estate in Milford, said distressed properties with reduced prices played a significant role in buoying sales in the area.

Capuzziello said half of his transactions last year involved either bank-owned properties or owners selling their homes for less than their mortgages, called short sales. Those types of sales often are at lower prices to entice buyers.

“The number of (distressed properties) seems to have come down a little bit, but they’re still prevalent in the marketplace,” Capuzziello said. “It’s all price point today that’s driving the market.”

Tim Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, said bank-owned property only made up 3.8 percent of statewide sales last year, but that doesn’t include short sales or distressed properties.

Warren said he’s optimistic that 2012 will be a turnaround year for the real estate market, thanks to low home prices and low mortgage rates.

“Some of my optimism leaps from encouraging unemployment numbers we’ve seen recently ... in Massachusetts,” Warren said. “So much of the real estate market stems from consumer confidence or the belief that people have stability in their jobs.

“It seems like an ideal time for them to move in when prices are down about 20 percent from their peak,” Warren said. “All those things influence people’s sense of wellbeing financially, and if they can sense positive direction then they’ve got to be more likely to take a calculated risk.”

Ian B. Murphy can be reached at 508-626-3964 or imurphy@wickedlocal.com.

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